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New body composition reference charts for preterm infants

Ellen W Demerath1, William Johnson2, Bridget A Davern3

  • 1Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, and ewd@umn.edu.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|November 4, 2016
PubMed

Insights

New reference charts for preterm infant body composition (fat mass and fat-free mass) are now available. These charts help replicate in utero fetal development, aiding nutritional management for premature babies.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Body Composition Analysis

Background:

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends matching preterm infant body composition to that of the in utero fetus.
  • A lack of intrauterine body composition reference charts for preterm infants hinders this goal.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop body composition reference curves for preterm infants (30-36 weeks gestation).
  • These curves aim to approximate the body composition of a fetus developing in utero.

Main Methods:

  • 223 diverse preterm infants (30-36 weeks gestation) were enrolled, meeting criteria for healthy fetal growth.
  • Air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and the lambda-mu-sigma method were used to generate reference values for fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percentage body fat (PBF) by gestational age (GA).

Main Results:

  • Gestational age-specific percentile values and a calculator for FFM, FM, and PBF were created.
  • The generated values closely matched ADP centile values for term infants (36-38 weeks gestation).
  • Median values were comparable to previously reported mean values for reference fetuses.

Conclusions:

  • These are the first published body composition reference charts for total FM and FFM at birth in preterm infants.
  • These charts can assist clinicians in adhering to AAP guidelines for nutritional management.
  • Future research will evaluate the clinical usefulness of body composition monitoring in preterm infants.
Abstract

Keywords:
adipositybody compositionfat massfat-free massgrowthinfantnormativepreterm

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